Blues triumph in local derby

The Blues triumphed over near neighbours Padiham, in a very competive local derby at the Arbories on a grey and wet Boxing Day afternoon.

With the hosts fielding six ex-Clitheroe players and with Jason Hart and Louis Mayers (ex-Padiham) this added extra spice to the fixture.

Simon Garner had to make a late change as Richard Burns was unwell, so Ross Wilson came in for his first start in a Blues shirt.

It was the Blues who struck first when Sefton Gonzales made a run into the penalty area and he was brought down by a Padiham defender. The referee awarded a penalty and Sefton took it himself and made no mistake to give the Blues a 1-0 lead.
Jason Hart was given plenty of attention by some of his former team mates and was the victim of a poorly timed challenge on 25 minutes. Sam Holt was yellow carded for the tackle.

Within three minutes Hart got his revenge, when he picked up a good pass from David Lynch to beat a defender and his shot beat the keeper for Gonzales to tap home in to the empty net.

Padiham hit back straight away within a minute, when Robbie Bromley’s shot from the edge of the box curled away from Alex Palffy into the net to make it 2-1.

Former Blue Chris Turner was the next name in the referee’s book for a late challenge on Seydou Bamba on 33 minutes.

The Blues had a good chance for a third goal right on half time when Gonzales headed the ball down to Hart whose shot went just wide.

Half time: Padiham 1 Clitheroe 2

At half time the Blues made two substitutions with Simon Garner replacing Roberto Bonaminio in midfield and Louis Mayers replaced Ross Wilson.

David Lynch had a good chance on 51 minutes from Gonzales lay off, the shot was wide. Another good four man move on 59 minutes saw James Walker’s finish off target.

The Blues were well on top again at this stage and it was no surprise that the third goal arrived on 64 minutes. A succession of corners saw one that Simon Garner slipped and kick the corner flag before the ball! However he was more successful with the next one as he curled one in which beat everyone, including Padiham keeper Marcus Burgess and the Blues led 3-1.

Alex Ralph replaced James Walker as the Blues third substitution immediately after the goal was scored.

Jason Hart had a header go over on 67 minutes and Louis Mayers header from Danny Morton’s cross was well saved from Burgess moments later.

Padiham had the ball in the net on 75 minutes, but it was disallowed for a foul on Alex Palffy. The hosts continued to push forward in the latter stages and got a goal back with two minutes remaining, from another former Blue, Mark Sharples.

Despite that late setback, the Blues held on for a very satisfying away win and broke the sequence of three successive defeats against the Storks.